BASKETBALL REFERENCE 15 points, 22 rebounds, they didn't keep track of blocks back then, but I would suspect it's at least 3 a game. Getting 22 boards these days are a lot tougher then it was back then, but honestly, can't Oden fit this mold? I realistically think Oden could have a career average of 15 points, 15 boards and 3 blocks a game. Would that make him a "once in a lifetime center"?
realistically no team will be able to do that again, times are very different, 2 or 3 would be excellent.
Once in a lifetime? Wouldn't Dwight Howard's 17/13/2 career averages also make him "once in a lifetime?" Maybe you meant "once in a generation", or "one of the best in the past ten years" and I think those kinds of numbers are possible. If he can stay healthy and cut the fouls to the point where he can stay on the floor for 32+ minutes a night I'd say it's possible Greg averages closer to 16/13/2.5 and ends up being one of the better centers of this era, but "once in a lifetime" indicates to me best of all time, not one of the best in the last 5-10 years. And I don't think he's going to top guys like Wilt (30/23/no blocks recorded), Russell, Olajuwan (22/11/3) or Shaq (25/11/2.3)
I don't think it's possible. The defensive 3 seconds rule, the restricted circle, the way players can drive into the paint and hit a stationary target and it gets called a blocking foul, I think all of these things pretty much make it impossible for a center to play goalie the way Russell did back in the day. Can Greg become the best possible version that this era's rules will allow? Perhaps, but there's a whole lot of basketball left to be played, and a lot can happen (both good or bad).
Everything you talked about there are ways in which the NBA has hamstrung the bigman in favor of the perimeter player. Wilt's numbers are forever out of reach as are likely Shaq, Hakeem and Russell's. With that said I think Oden can be the best center since Shaq which is still pretty impressive. I think Oden will eclipse Howard if he gets better about fouls and stays healthy. He already is WAY ahead of schedule on offense and is as good or better then Howard. Seeing as he was touted as a legendary defender and rebounder I think the more he recovers and gains confidence the likelier it becomes that he becomes the premier center in the NBA. He will never catch those legends however, it simply cannot be done without rule changes/reversions.
DING DING DING! I've said this all along. Oden's issues were mainly "mental" and yes the injury was what brought it on. The fact that Portland had the #1 pick, while Durant was available were all the necessary ingredients to question his value, i.e. Jordan vs. Bowie fiasco. If Oden can muster up about 10 more solid performances like he has the previous 4 games, all will be hindsight and he can focus more on being what's expected. I think he's a very sensitive person (Not in a gay way), but understands the emotional attachment most Blazer fans have for this team. It's almost our life in a way. I think his injury made him feel like he let his team down, let the fans down. He thought too much about that, his fouls and his inability to play a season healthy (I put an "*" for last season because history proves it takes 2 years to fully recover from knee surgery) Regardless if he's a 20/12/2 guy or a 15/13/3 guy, I think we will be seeing more of his "potential" sooner than later.
Yeah and only 2 centers. It was him and Wilt mainly. I think the NBA average size was like 6'5" or something. I know it's a lot shorter than it is now.
yeah LOL I started looking up some old stats cuz of this thread. Very interesting stuff! George Mikan truly was a monster of his era.
And if they did that with Oden having those stats, I think you could make the case of him being a once in a generation kind of center.
He doesn't need to do it as effective as Russ did it. He just needs to do it as effective as the admiral did it.
Man I can't wait to read the comments and threads around here at some point in the season when Greg hits an inevitable rough patch, or say he goes up against Howard and Shaq and doesn't dominate ... Maybe just a little bit of temperance is in order after Greg's first foul-less game of his career and three games against some of the biggest bottom feeders in the league.
But could you imagine if he came out and did really well? This place would shut down with all the traffic and posting. HAHAHAHHA
I'm merely saying he has the tools to become the best center, the length, returning hops, athleticism and strength make Oden a legitimate threat to be the best center in the league. As it stands right now I put him around 4th of the guys currently playing behind only: Howard, Lopez and arguably Bynum. Oden could easily pass Lopez and Bynum leaving only Howard as better. This speaks more to the dearth of quality big men then Oden being a once in a lifetime guy, but hey that's what makes it a generational thing (best of his generation potentially). He wouldn't be the first big man to enjoy little or no competition. It's not like Shaq was going up against Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson and Kareem in their primes. He was peaking when the others were shells of their former selves. I see a similar situation right now with only a few guys vying for best. You could add Hibbert to the list of current premiere big men, but I would take Oden any day. Seeing Oden's explosive moves and soft touch has made me more, not less, sure that he will be great. I simply don't see that kind of scoring touch on any of the premiere big men other then Bynum and Oden is already a better defender. He may not put up Howards gaudy numbers as Oden has more talent on his team, but I expect him to beat Howard in head to head play by sometime next season if not before.
I don't think 15 RPG is very possible these days without dedicating yourself just to rebounding (similar to what Dennis Rodman did in the Bulls portion of his career on the offensive end...he just passed the ball and crashed the boards). Oden could do that, but I think it would be a waste of his abilities, as I think he can be an offensive force. I think he's unlikely to hit extremes in any one stat (except, maybe, blocked shots). In his prime, I'd be looking for 22-25 PPG and 12-13 RPG. With 3-4 BPG and a lot of altered shots per game. Those stats, with top-notch defense, would make him an inner circle Hall of Famer if he had a normal length career and doesn't miss too many games per season to injury.
